Email to students 19 November 2019

Dear student,

I am writing with further information on the proposed strike action. We are hopeful that the dispute can be resolved without the need for continued industrial action, but right now the Universities and Colleges Union have informed us there are eight days of strike action planned, with action short of a strike (ASOS) beginning at the same time and then continuing into the new year In summary:

• Strike action from 25-29 November and 2-4 December 2019
• Continuous Action Short of a Strike from 25 November 2019 (examples of these actions include working to contract, not covering for absent colleagues, not sharing materials relating to lectures or classes cancelled as a result of strike)

Ensuring that students get the best out of their time in York is our priority. To that end, and in response to this situation, an Academic Contingency Group, chaired by Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Professor John Robinson, has been established and is working with all departments to ensure that plans are in place to try to minimise any impact or disruption your studies.

It is important to note, however, that staff who are planning on participating in industrial action are not legally obliged to tell us in advance whether they are taking action or not. This means that while we can make contingency plans, these may need to be adjusted, dependent on the scale of activity experienced on any particular strike day.

This means that you should assume your teaching and learning activities will go ahead as normal. It is very important that you attend your scheduled teaching, labs and other learning activities, unless you have been told otherwise by your department. Please do not miss teaching that is taking place as this could affect your studies. This is especially important for students who have attendance as part of their visa requirements. You must also continue to submit your assessments by the given deadlines and prepare for any examinations due to take place.

If any of your scheduled teaching activities are cancelled because of strike action your department will inform you as soon as they know. However there may be instances when we will only know about strike action if your lecturer does not turn up. We hope these instances will be rare or not happen at all.

If your teaching does not go ahead, you will still be able to access all other learning facilities on campus, including the library, and you can make use of online learning tools and resources. All other University resources and support will remain open and available to students including catering outlets, shops, careers, the Sports Village and student support services.

We very much hope this dispute will be resolved as soon as possible. Pay and pensions are national issues with universities as employers represented by different national parties including UUK, UCEA, and the pension scheme’s Joint Negotiating Committee. We will be working with these parties to try to influence an acceptable resolution.

To help keep you up to date and informed we have created a set of FAQs for students. You can also send any queries to industrial-action-enquiries@york.ac.uk.

Kind regards

Charlie Jeffery
Vice-Chancellor